Music Notes: Bari Koral Family Rock Band's "Anna and the Cupcake" CD Review (+ FREE Music download)

Bari Koral Family Rock Band presents a lovely little musical adventure with songs about shoes, cupcakes, trains, hearts, rockets, butterflies and The Gingerbread Man (psst...free song download in this post) in Anna and the Cupcakes.  Bari leads kids in great imaginative fun by pretending many unusual things happen like monkeys stealing cupcakes and practicing to walk like crabs.  Each song has a flavor of mischief that makes for an unusual and frolicking story.  You will be enchanted by Bari Koral's musical talent and witty tales she shares through her music.  Enjoy!

 

**I was given a complimentary copy by Waldmania and Bari Koral in exchange for my honest review.** 

2012 - HOW SWEET IT IS!
BARI KORAL'S ANNA AND THE CUPCAKES
WINS NAPPA GOLD & PARENTS' CHOICE RECOMMENDED HONORS

BARI HAS A SWEET DEAL FOR FANS
"GINGERBREAD MAN" - A FREE HOLIDAY SEASON DOWNLOAD

"The Best Music: Close your eyes while you bop to this CD, and you might trick yourself into believing you're at a folk rock concert and not in your toy-strewn living room!  The music is as good as any top-notch alternative band, but with super kid-friendly lyrics." -- Nickelodeon ParentsConnect

"Anna and the Cupcakes is a twangy fun mix of folk and pop." -- Parents Magazine

"FUN FIND: Gentle, bluesy, countrified pop.  Daydream-y tunes have singer Bari Koral weaving tales about soaring into the stratosphere." -- Scholastic Parent & Child

NEW YORK, NY -- Award-winning singer/songwriter Bari Koral is getting into the holiday spirit with a gift of music for her fans.  From now through December 31, the song "Gingerbread Man" from Bari Koral's award-winning 2012 album, Anna and the Cupcakes, is available as a free download.

"Gingerbread Man" may be downloaded at:

http://soundcloud.com/barikoralfamilyband/gingerbread-man

From cupcakes to gingerbread, this holiday season wraps up a very "sweet" year for Bari Koral.  Anna and the Cupcakes, Bari's second full-length studio CD for kids and familes, was honored this year with the prestigious NAPPA Gold and Parents' Choice Recommended awards.  Anna blends a cool mix of country, blues, and folk (all original, save a cover of the Avett Brothers' "Kick Drum Heart").  People Magazine dubbed the album one of the year's coolest for kids.  Rave reviews for Bari's music rolled in from media outlets nationwide, including Yahoo! Kids, Time Out NY Kids, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsday, and more.

2012 saw The Bari Koral Family Rock Band performing at such important venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and Symphony Space in NYC.  Bari was also thrilled to play several dates in support of "kindie" music stars Dan Zanes and Elizabeth Mitchell and to perform for and with many of her peers at the annual Kindiefest conference in Brooklyn.  Another 2012 highlight was signing a distribution deal with eOne Music Group, the leading and fastest-growing independent music company in the U.S.

Says Bari Koral, "2012 has been a sweet year in so many ways.  After the great success of my debut full-length kids' CD, Rock and Roll Garden, I took the challenge of writing songs for Anna and the Cupcakes seriously. I went away to Byrdcliffe, the writers' colony in Woodstock, NY, for almost a month to write songs.  Only the strongest songs from that session made it onto Anna."

Bari continues, "As a teacher of music, movement, and kids' yoga, I'm always looking for good music.  I'm proud to say that many of the songs on Anna and the Cupcakes -- songs like 'Shoes,' 'Let's Get Together,' 'Butterfly,' 'Rocketship,' and more -- work particularly well in a music-and-movement or kids' yoga class setting.  It's been gratifying to learn that many other teachers are now using these songs and that the kids love them.  What I'm most proud of is that I wrote not just one or two songs for Anna and the Cupcakes to which children really connect, but many.  This was, without a doubt, the biggest highlight of my year."

Creating an activity book for teachers and parents was another of Bari Koral's 2012 projects. The colorful activity book, which incorporates a great many fun music-and-movement and kids' yoga suggestions, along with some cool and peaceful kids' yoga tips, is available at Bari's live shows and on her website.  Those who download Bari's "Gingerberad Man" song will want to check out the book's "Gingerbread Man" page, which has suggestions for activites to coordinate with the song.  The page may be viewed at:  http://i46.tinypic.com/2hzo6ya.jpg

Bari Koral draws upon years of experience as a successful touring singer/songwriter and teacher to create shows that speak to the whole family, blending great songwriting with superb singing and interactive movement.  She looks ahead not only to performing songs from Rock and Roll Garden and Anna and the Cupcakes at upcoming shows, but also to previewing songs from her next album.  Bari dedicated another month in 2012 to writing songs for her next release and says, "It's very exciting to have some good songs in the bag already."

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Check out Bari's website at http://barikoral.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barikoralfamilyrockband?fref=ts
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